Climbing Tips from Sepp Kuss

In 2023, U.S. racer Sepp Kuss scored an outstanding overall victory in the Vuelta a España. He’s usually a selfless mountain domestique to his team leaders—Jonas Vingegaard and formerly Primož Roglič—the last man riding ahead of them when the going gets steep and tough. Yet, he’s also notched some notable wins in high places. He moved into the Vuelta’s GC contention after taking Stage 6 up to the Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre, a 10.9-km climb with grades of 16 per cent. His 2021 Tour de France stage victory was on a day that finished in Andorra, after covering more than 4,500 m of elevation. At 21, he won the Mont-Mégantic stage at the Tour de Beauce.

Here are some of Kuss’s insights into what makes a good climber, as well as tips that can help you to take on steep gradients and high altitudes.

Born to soar

Whenever you watch a Grand Tour, you’ll notice how altitude affects riders differently. Many simply implode when it rises higher than 2,000 m. Even many of the great Grand Tour contenders struggle in the thin air. Several teams now spend much of their time either training at altitude or sleeping in altitude-controlled environments—something few of us amateurs can entertain.